Five tips to help you organise your working week

Organising your working week can be a daunting task for anyone, but for busy contractors who are often solely responsible for organising themselves, it can be even trickier.

Knowing how to organise your week appropriately can mean the difference between completing a project and being delayed, which in turn could lead to losing future work.

There are a number of things that you can do to ensure your working week is organised effectively so that you get the most out of your time spent. Here we outline just a few of these helpful tips.

Organise your working week

Make a clear to do list

A great deal of time can be wasted when stepping back from work to think about what task needs to be completed next. At the beginning of each week, or even the end of the previous week, we recommend making a detailed list of each task that needs to completed; from this you will have a defined list of objectives all in one place.

Pareto principle

The Pareto Principle states that 80% of the work that you do will only amount to 20% of overall value; prioritise the 20% of your work that will add true value to your overall work.

Try not to multitask

Multitasking will result in a lack of productivity on your part as each task you attempt to complete will not receive your full attention. Focusing on one aspect at a time will allow you to get through a great deal more work in the long run.

Record your workload

As with deciding what task to work on next, reminding yourself what you have already completed can take an unnecessary amount of time that could be spent being more productive. Keeping track of what tasks have been started, completed or even delayed will speed up the process of prioritising your to-do list.

Avoid continually checking your emails

It can become an automatic reflex to check your emails first thing in the morning and throughout the day, but ultimately this can draw your attention away from the task at hand and onto other areas. Setting yourself specific times throughout the day or waiting until a task is completed to check your emails can lead to a much more productive working environment.

By following these simple tips contractors are able to organise their working week effectively, leading to increased productivity and subsequently a higher chance of being recommended for future work.